Philips Pasta Maker Review & Comparison

The Philips Pasta Maker is one of the best electric pasta machines out there, especially in its price range and in this review we will explain exactly why this electric pasta extruder deserves all the love it gets. But let me tell you this, with this Philips making homemade pasta just can’t get any easier. Our Philips Pasta Maker review focuses on the main aspects of the machine and why it is such a good addition for every pasta lovers kitchen.

Since the Philips Pasta Maker is a pasta extruder that comes with a built-in food processor, this means that most of the work will be taken out of your hands. With classic pasta rollers such as the Marcato Atlas 150 you have to make the dough yourself with a food processor or just with your hands, but with the Philips Pasta Maker it is a lot easier. You simply add the flour into the mixer and then pour your mixture of eggs and water to the machine and the Philips Pasta Maker will do the rest.

During my review of the Philips Pasta Machine it quickly became clear that this is one of the easiest pasta machines to operate. When you buy this pasta machine you get a bunch of items with it that will help you make multiple types of pasta and a few handy cups that will make sure that you get the measurements right for the pasta dough.

You get four default pasta shape discs with the Philips Pasta Maker that will allow you to make four different pasta types: spaghetti, fettuccine, penne and lasagna sheets. The one thing I love about lasagna sheets is that you can make a lot of different kind of pasta from the sheets, just think about stuffed ravioli and orecchiette.

Technical Specifications

While a pasta machine is more than just a list of its specifications, it’s always interesting what these specifications mean for you as a cook. The most important feature of the Philips Pasta Maker is how powerful this machine is and how quickly it can extrude the pasta for you, as it has a force of over 1400 lbs that makes sure that the pasta making process goes as quickly as possible.

“Making a batch of pasta for my family has become as easy as pressing a button, I just love it!”

With a weight of 16 lbs (or 7,5 kg) it isn’t the most lightweight machine out there, but as I mentioned before the power of the machine makes up for that. Since the Philips has a built-in food processor to mix the pasta dough, the dimensions of the pasta machine are obviously larger than a traditional pasta roller: H13.4 x L16 x W12 inches.

As with most products, the little details can turn a good product into a great one. The Philips Pasta Maker comes with a handy storage drawer where you can store your pasta shaping discs. The measuring cups can be placed in the mixing area of the machine, and this way you will never lose any component that you originally received with the Philips.

Daily use & making the pasta

The most important part of every kitchen appliance: does it work as intended and how user friendly is it? I can give a very short answer on both question, as the Philips Pasta Maker does exactly what it is meant for and it is one of the most user friendly pasta makers out there.

The product video that Philips uses to promote the pasta maker makes it look very easy to make your own homemade pasta, and at first I thought they might have made it look a bit too easy. But when I used it for the first time I can say that the video of the Philips Pasta Maker comes very close to how it works in reality. All you have to do is add your ingredients into the mixer and let the machine do the mixing, kneading and the extruding.

Something that I am always scared about when I don’t make the dough myself by hand or with my own food processor, is that I don’t know whether I got the dough the way I want it: perfect. During the first batch of pasta that I made with the Philips Pasta Maker I was constantly checking if I got the dough right, as this is a crucial point of making pasta.

If you don’t get the dough right, it can be too soft and spurt out or it can be too firm and this makes it hard for the pasta machine to extrude it. Just a tip for every pasta machine: the first time that you use your pasta machine you should always follow the pasta dough recipe that comes with the pasta machine. The reason for this is because the recipe has been tested with the pasta machine so you won’t walk into problems when you are using your pasta maker.

The one thing that isn’t automated in the process is that once the pasta comes out it has to be manually cut by hand with the pasta slicer. I actually prefer this, since when you cut it manually you can decide the length of the pasta shape. This way you can get longer spaghetti, but you should also think about the possibility of making shapes such as penne longer than usual.

The results of my first week with the Philips Pasta Maker was a good one. I have made a batch of pasta every day and I didn’t encounter any problems at all. The pasta did taste great and the worry of the ‘perfect’ pasta dough went away after the first three days; the machine does a great job at making a good pasta dough if you get the measurements of the ingredients right.

The free recipe book that comes with the pasta machine is a welcome addition and sets you off to a good start. The recipe book features over 20 different pasta recipes and the right measurements for 24 different pasta flavors. The measurements that Philips has added are very convenient and will make it a lot easier to make the perfect pasta dough.

Philips Pasta Maker Shaping Discs

As I have mentioned before, with your purchase of the Philips Pasta maker you will get the four standard shaping discs; spaghetti, fettuccine, penne and lasagna. While these four shaping discs are great to start with, having more pasta shape discs is never a bad thing.

The price of these attachments are actually quite low if you compare them to attachments for manual pasta makers or the KitchenAid. The average retail price for a set of two Philips shaping discs is around 24,99, which is a lot lower than the 180 dollars that you pay for three attachment for a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

Cleaning the Philips Pasta Maker

Unlike traditional pasta rollers, pasta extruders can be a bit more work to clean. Luckily Philips is a company that put thought in the design of their pasta maker and cleaning it isn’t a task that will take a lot of your time. Most pasta extruders aren’t that easy to clean in comparison to manual pasta makers. It seems that Philips didn’t want to make the same mistake as many other manufacturers as they have clearly thought about cleaning the machine during the design process.

It has been designed in a certain way that most of the parts can easily get detached and cleaned. The bin where the dough gets mixed can be cleaned by hand or in the dishwasher, and any dough leftovers the Philips Pasta Maker discs can be easily cleaned with the cleaning tool that you get for free with your purchase. You simply use the cleaning tool to push out all the remaining pasta from the pasta discs and you are done.

Most of the parts of the machine can easily get detached, making the cleaning an easy task. You don’t have to worry about wasting time trying to get rid of pasta leftovers in some hidden corner, as the mixing area has been designed to have no corners at all.

Philips VS KitchenAid

How well does the Philips Pasta Maker compare to the pasta attachments of KitchenAid and the electric version of the Marcato pasta roller, two of the other big brands that dominate the pasta market?

If you already own a KitchenAid stand mixer buying the pasta attachments can be a smart choice. However, the Philips Pastsa Maker might be a better fit for you and this depends on a few factors. Since there are only three different attachments available for the KitchenAid, you can only make three different types of pasta with the KitchenAid and with the additional attachments that are available for the Philips you can make eight different kinds of pasta.

The quality of the KitchenAid is on par with the Philips, so if you are looking for high quality both are perfect. But at the end of the day the Philips is the best choice for those that will make pasta on a regular basis, as it takes most of the work out of your hands and is made for making pasta. The KitchenAid is a viable choice if you don’t plan on making pasta very regularly and if you already own a KitchenAid stand mixer.

Philips Pasta Maker review final verdict

The Philips Pasta Maker is perfect for those that are looking for an all-in-one pasta maker that takes most of the effort out of their hands. It is perfect for those that want to eat fresh pasta on a regular basis throughout the week, but don’t want to be manually making it by hand every few days. The Philips definitely is one of the easiest and quickest ways to always have a supply of fresh pasta. If you compare the Philips Pasta Maker with other pasta extruders in the same price range, the Philips is the obvious winner with its focus on design, speed and ease of use.

Philips Pasta Maker 2357/05The Philips Pasta Maker is available on Amazon.com. Here you can also find all the shaping discs that are available for the machine. The reviews there will also give you a better insight about the machine itself.

That sounds like a lovely gift! I checked the Amazon page and it seems Philips does allow you to return the pasta maker. Multiple people reported that they have successfully returned the Philips Pasta Machine and got their refund. You can always check the "Customer Questions & Answers" section on the product page and search for "refund" or "return".